The Law And The Gospel

Αὐτὸς ὁ μέγας Ἀπόστολος, ὁ πλεῖον πάντων κoπιάσας, ὁ τὸν νόμον ἀκριβῶς μετελθὼν, παιδευσάτω σε, νηπίαν εἶναι ἐν αὐτῷ γνῶσιν τῆς θείας παιδεύσεως , ὡς ἐν σκιᾷ κεκαλυμμένην, καὶ ἀμυδρώς δια ερωμένην . Σκιὰν εἶχεν ὁ νόμος τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, ἀποφαινόμενος, οὐκ αὐτὴν τὴν εἰκόνα τῶν πραγμάτων , ἣν ἐπιστεύθη τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον , πρὸς ἣν οἱ τύποι ἐπέβλεπον. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΥΜΔ' Ἰσιδωρῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne 78.425d

Let the great Apostle himself, who toiled more than anyone, 1 and diligently attended to the law, teach you that there was slight knowledge of Divine teaching there, as if it were covered with a veil, and hardly gave itself to be seen. For the law, he proclaims, is a shadow law of future things, 2 not an image of the things themselves, for which the Gospel was given, and to which it points as a figure. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 444, To Isidore The Deacon 1 1 Cor 15.10 2 Heb 10.1

Separated For The Gospel

Segregatus in evangelium Dei. Εὐαγγέλιον, bonum nuntium interpretatur, quo peccatores ad indulgentiam convocantur. Apostolus autem quo modo in Judaismo locum doctoris habebat, ut pote Pharisaeus, ita a Judaismi praedicatione separatum se dicit in evangelium Dei, ut a lege dissimulans Christum praedicaret. Aliter: Segregatus, hoc est, a grege apostolico separatus, ut gentibus praedicaret. Sicut in Actibus apostolorum Spiritus sanctus dicit: Segregate mihi Saulum et Barnabam, in opus ad quod elegi eos. Segregatus dicitur in evangelium Dei, sicut alibi ipse de se dicit: Cum autem placuit Deo, qui me segregavit de utero matris meae, ut revelaret Filium suum in me: ex quo intelligimus, quod justi separentur a ventre. Ergo et Paulus quidem segregatus in Evangelium dicitur, segregatus a ventre matris suae. Causas in eo et merita quibus in hoc segregari debuerit, vidit ille quem non latet mens: praevidit enim quod abundantius quam caeteri omnes laboraturus esset in evangelio, quod in siti, et in fame, et in frigore, et in nuditate, in periculis latronum, in periculis fluminum, in periculis maris praedicaturus esset evangelium Christi. In evangelium Dei. Unum atque idem est dicere, et evangelium Dei, evangelium Christi, quod ipse Dominus dicit: Ego et Pater unum sumus. Et iterum dicit ad Patrem: Omnia mea tua sunt, et tua mea. Ergo evangelium Patris, evangelium Filii est. Sedulius Scotus, Collectanea in omnes B. Pauli epistolas, In Epistolam ad Romanos, Caput Primam Source: Migne PL 103.12a-c

Separated for the Gospel of God... 1 Euaggelion is translated as good news, by which sinners are called to forgiveness. The Apostle held the position of teacher in Judaism, while a Pharisee, and thus he says that he was separated from the preaching of Judaism for the Gospel of God, so that detached from the law he might preach for Christ. Otherwise, he was separated from the flock of the Apostles so that he might preach to the Gentiles. As in the Acts of the Apostles when the Holy Spirit says, 'Set apart for me Saul and Barnabas, I have chosen them for a work.' 2 It is said, then, he was separated for the Gospel of God and also elsewhere he says of himself, 'When it was pleasing to God, he separated me from the womb of my mother, so that He might reveal His Son in me.' 3 From which we understand that the righteous are separated from the womb. Therefore Paul is said to be separated for the Gospel by being separated from the womb of his mother. The reasons and merits by which he deserved to be separated for this, He sees whom nothing escapes, for He foresees that he would labour more abundantly then any other in the the Gospel, so that in thirst and in hunger, and in cold and in nakedness, and in peril of bandits and in peril of rivers and of seas, he would preach the Gospel of Christ. 4 'For the Gospel of God.' One and the same thing is it to say the Gospel of God and the Gospel of Christ, since the Lord says, 'I am the Father are one.' And again He says to the Father, 'Everything mine is yours and yours is mine.' 5 Therefore the Gospel of the Father is the Gospel of the Son. Sedulius Scotus, Commentary On The Letters of Saint Paul, On the Letter to the Romans, Chapter 1 1 Rom 1.1 2 Acts 13.2 3 Galat 1.15-16 4 2 Cor 11.27 5 Jn 10.30, 17.10

Matthew's Departure

Et post haec exiit, et vidit publicanum nomine Levi, sedentem ad telonium, et ait illi: Sequere me. Idem Levi qui Matthaeus est, sed Lucas Marcusque propter verecundiam et honorem evangelistae, noluerunt nomen ponere vulgatum. Ipse autem Matthaeus iuxta illud quod scriptum est: Iustus accusator sui est, in primordio sermonis Matthaeum se et publicanum nominat, ut ostendat legentibus nullum debere conversum de salute diffidere, cum ipse de publicano in Apostolum, de teloniario in Evangelistam sit repente mutatus. Et relictis omnibus, surgens secutus est eum. Intelligens Matthaeus quid sit veraciter Dominum sequi, relictis omnibus, sequitur. Sequi enim, imitari est. Ideoque ut pauperem Christum, non tam gressu quam affectu confortari potuisset, reliquit propria, qui rapere solebat aliena, perfectaque nobis abrenuntiationis saeculi formam tribuens, non solum lucra reliquit vectigalium, sed et periculum contempsit, quod evenire poterat a principibus saeculi, quia vectigalium rationes imperfectas atque incompositas reliquerit. Tanta enim cupiditate sequendi Dominum ductus est, ut in nullo prorsus huius vitae respectum vel cogitationem sibimet reservaverit, propter quod iusta mercede, dum humana sedulus negotia deserit, dominicorum fidelis dispensator meruit esse talentorum. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber II, Caput V Source: Migne PL 92.389a-c

After after these things He went out and He saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his booth, and He said to him: 'Follow me.' 1 This Levi is Matthew, but Luke and Mark on account of respect and honour of the Evangelist, are unwilling to use the common name. Yet Matthew himself, according to what is written, 'The righteous man is his own accuser,' 2 at the first mention of himself names himself Matthew and a tax collector, showing to readers there should be no hesitation in turning to salvation, when he suddenly changed from a tax collector to an Apostle, and from a toll gatherer to an Evangelist. And leaving everything, he rose and followed Him. Matthew, understanding what it truly means to follow the Lord, leaves everything and follows. For to follow is to imitate. Therefore as Christ was poor, not so much with feet but with affection propelled, he left his own things, he who was accustomed to seize things from others, giving to us a form of the world's renunciation, not only leaving the profit to be had from taxes, but even scorning the peril which it was possible would come from the rulers of the age because he left his accounts of taxes unfinished and disorganised. For he was led by such a great desire for the Lord that not looking at all to anything of this life, nor giving thought for himself, because of the righteous reward, he deserted the eager administration of human affairs and merited to become a faithful dispensor of the Lord's talents. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 2, Chapter 5 1 Lk 5.27 2 Prov 18.17

Showings And Ascension

Cur secundum Mattheaum et Marcum mandat discipulis: Praecedam vos in Galiliaeam, ibi me videbitis: secundum Lucam vero et Joannem etiam intra conclave obtulit se vivendum? Et quidem quod se videndum frequenter obtulerit, et plusquam quingentibus fratribus, et Patro, et Jacobo, etiam Apostolico probavimus testimonio. Et Lucas in Actibus apostolorum docuit quod discipulis manifestaverit se vivere post passionem suam, in multis argumentis apparens his, et disputans de regno Dei. Ergo quia saepiius et diversis apparuit, cum in Galilaea quando sit visus, nequaquam praescriptum ac definitum tempus Scriptura designaverit: in Hierusalem quando se obtulerit, et diem et horam expresserit; timidiores intra conclavia revisuntur, fortiores ad montem convenerunt. Denique intra conclave, ostiis clausis, inducit Joannes discipulos congregatos propter metum Judaeorum: quos non undecim Lucas, sed plures scripsit fuisse: istos autem Matthaeus undecim solos in Galilaea convenisse non siluit. Denique sic habes: Undecim autem discipuli abierunt in Galilaeam, in montem ubi constituerat illis Jesus, et videntes eum adoraverunt: quidam autem dubitaverunt. Quibus docendi et baptizandi tribuit potestatem. Undecim quoque discumbentibus discipulis et Marcus in fine apparuisse scribit quando similitar praecandi his totum orbem mandat officium. Unde hoc conventientius arbitror, quod Dominus quidem mandaverit discipulis ut in Galilaea se viderent: sed illis metu intra conclave residentibus, primo se obtulisse, postea vero confirmatis animis, undecim illos Galilaeam petisse.Vel certe, hoc quoque diligentibus scriptoribus placuisse reperio, nihil obstat si dicamus pauciores intra conclave, in monte complures fuisse. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Evangelii secundum Lucam, Liber X Source: Migne PL 15.1850b-d

Why according to Matthew and Mark did He command His disciples: 'I shall go before you into Galilee, 1 there you will see me,' 2 but according to Luke and John He brought Himself into the room to be seen? 3 And certainly He often brought Himself to be seen, 4 even to more than fifty, and to Peter, and to James, for we approve the Apostolic testimony. 5 And in the Acts of the Apostles Luke teaches that He had manifested Himself to His disciples after His passion, appearing to them in many ways, and speaking of the kingdom of God. 6 Therefore because He often appeared, and in different ways, Scripture does not designate a definite and foretold time as to when He would be seen in Galilee, but it tells the day and hour when He brought Himself to Jerusalem, so that the more fearful within the room, seeing Him again, be made stronger, that they might gather at the mount. Finally John introduces the disciples gathered in the room with the doors closed on account of fear of the Jews, 7 and in Luke there were not eleven of them but he wrote there were more, 8 and Matthew was not silent that only these eleven gathered in Galilee. So he has: 'The eleven disciples went out to Galilee, onto the mount where Jesus had commanded them, and seeing Him they adored, but a few doubted.' 9 To whom He gave the power of teaching and baptising. Mark, at the end of his Gospel, also writes that He appeared to eleven sitting disciples. 10 when similarly He bestows on these the office of preaching throughout the whole world. Whence I judge this is most appropriate: that the Lord certainly announced to His disciples that they would see Him in Galilee, but since they were fearful in the room, He first showed Himself to them there, and after, when their souls had been fortified, the eleven went to Galilee. Or certainly, and this report has also pleased dutiful writers, there is no obstacle if we say that there were fewer in the room and more on the mountain. Saint Ambrose, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 10 1 Mt 26.32 2 Mk 16.7 3 Lk 24.36 4 Jn 20.19 5 1 Cor 15.6 6 Acts 1.3 7 Jn 20.19 8 Lk 24.33-36 9 Mt 28.16-17 10 Mk 16.7

Gospels And Men And Animals

Similitudo autem vultus eorum, facies hominis, et facies leonis a dextris ipsorum quatuor; facies autem bovis a sinistris ipsorum quatuor; et facies aquilae desuper ipsorum quatuor. Quod enim quatuor haec pennata animalia sanctos quatuor Evangelistas designent, ipsa uniuscujusque libri evangelici exordia testantur. Nam quia ab humana generatione coepit, jure per hominem Matthaeus; quia per clamorem in deserto, recte designatur per leonem Marcus; quia a sacrificio exorsus est, bene per vitulum Lucas; quia vero a divinitate Verbi coepit, digne per aquilam significatur Joannes, qui dicens: In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum, dum in ipsam Divinitatis substantiam intendit, quasi more aquilae oculos in solem fixit. Sed quia electi omnes membra sunt Redemptoris nostri, ipse autem Redemptor noster caput est omnium electorum, per hoc quod membra ejus figurata sunt, nihil obstat si etiam in his omnibus et ipse signetur. Ipse enim unigenitus Dei Filius veraciter factus est homo; ipse in sacrificio nostrae redemptionis dignatus est mori ut vitulus: ipse per virtutem suae fortitudinis surrexit ut leo. Leo etiam apertis oculis dormire perhibetur, quia in ipsa morte in qua ex humanitate Redemptor noster dormire potuit, ex divinitate sua immortalis permanendo vigilavit. Ipse etiam post resurrectionem suam ascendens ad coelos, in superioribus est elevatus ut aquila. Totum ergo simul nobis est, qui et nascendo homo, et moriendo vitulus, et resurgendo leo, et ad coelos ascendendo aquila factus est. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia IV Source: Migne PL 76 815a-c

As for the appearance of their faces, each had the face of a man, yet each of the four looked like a lion when seen from the right, like an ox when seen from the left, like an eagle when seen from above. 1 These four winged animals signify the four holy evangelists, to which the openings of each of the Gospel books bear witness. For because it begins from human generation, Matthew is rightly a man, and because of the crying out in the desert the lion rightly designates Mark, and because it opens with sacrifice, Luke is rightly given the figure of an ox, and because it begins with the Divine Word, John is worthily signified by the eagle, he who says, 'In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and God was the Word,' 2 gazing on the Divine substance as in the manner of the eagle with its eyes fixed on the sun. But because they are all elect members of our Redeemer, and He who is our Redeemer is the head of all the elect, and as His members they have been figured, nothing prevents Him being signified in all these. For He, the only begotten Son of God, was truly made man, and He in sacrifice for our redemption being worthy to die, is as the ox, and He through the strength of his fortitude rose up like the lion. For the lion is accustomed to sleep with its eyes poen, whence our Redeemer in His death by our humanity slept, and by His immortally persisting Divinity He was vigilant. Then after His resurrection, ascending to heaven, into the heights He rose like the eagle. So He is all akin to us, He who in birth was as a man, in dying as an ox, in rising as a lion, and ascending to the heavens was as an eagle. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 4 1 Ezekiel 1.10 2 Jn 1.1

Numerous Gospels

Notum enim vobis facio, fratres, Evangelium quod evangelizatum est a me: quia non est secundem hominem, neque enim ego ab homine accepi illud, neque didici; sed per revelationem Jesu Christi. Nec putemus in verbis Scripturarum esse Evangelium, sed in sensu: non in superficie, sed in medulla; non in sermonum foliis, sed in radice rationis. Dicitur in propheta de Deo: Sermones ejus boni sunt cum eo. Tunc Scriptura utilis est audientibus, cum absque Christo non dicitur, cum absque patre non profertur, cum sine Spiritu non eam insinuat ille qui praedicat. Alioquin et diabolus qui loquitur de Scripturis, et omnes haereses, secundum Ezechielem, inde sibi consuunt cervicalia, quae ponant sub cubito universae aetatis. Ego quoque ipse qui loquor, si Christum in me habeo, non habeo Evangelium hominis; si autem peccator sum, dicitur mihi: Peccatori dixit Deus: Quare tu enarras justitias meas: et assumis in labiis tuis Testamentum meum? Tu autem odisti disciplinam, et projectisti verba mea post te, et caetera quae sequuntur. Grande periculum est in Ecclesia loqui, ne forte interpretatione perversa, de Evangelio Christi, hominis fiat Evangelium: aut quod pejus est, diaboli. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Epistolam ad Galatas, Liber I Source: Migne PL 26.322c-d

For I would have you know, brothers, that the Gospel I preached is not from man. Indeed I neither received it nor learnt it from a man, but through the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 We should not think that the Gospel is in the words of Scripture, but in the actual meaning, not on the surface but in the innermost parts, not in the leaves of speech but in the root of reason. The Prophet says of God: 'His words are good to him.' 2 Scripture is useful to its hearers when it is spoken with Christ, when it is proclaimed with the Father, and when he who preaches imbues it with the Spirit. Even the devil speaks about Scripture, 3 and from it, according to Ezekiel, all the heresies stitch together pillows which they place under the elbow of every age. 4 As for me, if I have Christ in me as I speak, I do not have the gospel of man. But if I am a sinner, it is said to me: 'To the sinner God has said, Why do you speak of my commandments and take my covenant on your lips? You hate discipline and you have cast my words behind you,' 5 and what follows. Most dangerous it is to the Church when by some perverse interpretation of the Gospel of Christ it becomes the gospel of man, or, what is worse, the gospel of the devil. Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Letter to the Galatians, Book 1 1 Galat 1.11-12 2 Mich 2.7 3 cf Mt 4.1-11, Lk 4.1-13 4 Ezek 13.18 5 Ps 49.16-17

Books And The Spirit

Οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ἔδωκέ τι γραπτὸν ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλ᾿ ἀντὶ γραμμάτων τὴν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐπηγγείλατο δώσειν χάριν· Ἐκεῖνος γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἀναμνήσει, φησὶ, πάντα. καὶ ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι τοῦτο πολὺ ἄμεινον ἦν, ἄκουσον διὰ τοῦ προφήτου τί φησι· Διαθήσομαι ὑμῖν διαθήκην καινὴν, διδοὺς νόμους μου εἰς διάνοιαν αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίας γράψω αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἔσονται πάντες διδακτοὶ Θεοῦ. Καὶ ὁ Παῦλος δὲ ταύτην ἐνδεικνύμενος τὴν ὑπεροχὴν, ἔλεγεν εἰληφέναι νόμον, οὐκἐν πλαξὶ λιθίναις, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν πλαξὶ καρδίας σαρκίναις. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τοῦ χρόνου προϊόντος ἐξώκειλαν, οἱ μὲν δογμάτων ἕνεκεν, οἱ δὲ βίου καὶ τρόπων, ἐδέησε πάλιν τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν γραμμάτων ὑπομνήσεως. Ἐννόησον οὖν ἡλίκον ἐστὶ κακὸν, τοὺς οὕτως ὀφείλοντας ζῇν καθαρῶς, ὡς μηδὲ δεῖσθαι γραμμάτων, ἀλλ᾿ ἀντὶ βιβλίων παρέχειν τὰς καρδίας τῷ Πνεύματι, ἐπειδὴ τὴν τιμὴν ἀπωλέσαμεν ἐκείνην, καὶ κατέστημεν εἰς τὴν τούτων χρείαν, μηδὲ τῷ δευτέρῳ πάλιν κεχρῆσθαι φαρμάκῳ εἰς δέον. Εἰ γὰρ ἔγκλημα τὸ γραμμάτων δεηθῆναι, καὶ μὴ τὴν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐπισπάσασθαι χάριν, σκόπησον ἡλίκη κατηγορία, τὸ μηδὲ μετὰ τὴν βοήθειαν ταύτην ἐθέλειν κερδαίνειν, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς εἰκῆ καὶ μάτην κείμενα τὰ γράμματα περιορᾷν, καὶ μείζονα ἐπισπᾶσθαι τὴν κόλασιν.   Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Ὑπομηνμα Εἰς ᾍγιον Ματθαιον Τον Εὐαγγελιστην, Ὁμιλια Α' Source: Migne PG 57 13-15

Nor did God give to the Apostles anything in writing, but instead of written words He promised that He would give the grace of the Spirit, for He says 'For that one will remind you of all things.' 1 And that you learn that this was much better, hear what He says through the Prophet: 'I will make a new covenant with you, putting my laws into their minds, and in their hearts I will write them,' and, 'they shall all be taught by God.' 2 And Paul, exhibiting this superiority, said that they had received a law 'not on tablets of stone, but in the fleshy tablets of the heart.' 3 But since in time some came to ruin, some on account of doctrines, some on account of life and conduct, there was need again for the written word for remembrance. Consider, then, how great an evil it is for us, who should live so purely as not even to need written words, but instead of books yield up our hearts to the Spirit, since we have lost that honour, and stand in need of these compositions, to fail again to make use of this second remedy. For if it be culpable to have need of written words and not to have drawn down on oneself the grace of the Spirit, let it be seen how grave is the blame of not profiting even after this assistance, but treating what is written as a thing vainly cast down, for so is greater punishment brought on oneself. Saint John Chrysostom, from the First Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 1 Jn 14.26 2 Jer 31. 31,33 3 2 Cor 3.3

Thy Kingdom Come

Ἐλθέτω ἡ Βασιλεία σου. Ἴνα καταργηθῇ μὲν πᾶσα ἀρχὴ καὶ ἐξουσία καὶ δύναμις, ἔτι δὲ καὶ πᾶσα βασιλεία τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ ἡ βασιλεύουσα ἐν τοῖς θνητοῖς ἡμῶν σώμασιν ἁμαρτία· πάντων δὲ τούτων βασιλεύσῃ ὁ Θεός. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν Ἐπαγγελιον Source : Migne PG 17.353c

Thy kingdom come. 1 That is, that every rule and authority and power perish, and likewise every kingdom of the world, and the sin ruling over our mortal bodies, but that God rule over all these things. Origen, On the Gospel of Luke, Fragment 1 Lk 11.2

John And The Eagle

Similitudo autem vultus eorum, facies hominis, et facies leonis a dextris ipsorum quatuor; facies autem bovis a sinistris ipsorum quatuor; et facies aquilae desuper ipsorum quatuor. Sed magna nobis de eisdem evangelistis et sanctis praedicatoribus quaestio oritur, cur homo et leo a dextris ipsorum quatuor, vitulus vero a sinistris ipsorum quatuor esse perhibetur. Neque enim sine admiratione est cur duo illa a dextris et unum hoc esse a sinistris dicitur. Et rursum quaerendum cur aquila non a dextris, vel sinistris, sed desuper ipsorum quatuor esse memoratur. Duas itaque nobis quaestiones objecimus, quas oportet ut aperiente Domino dissolvamus. Homo igitur et leo a dextris, vitulus vero a sinistris esse perhibetur. A dextris etenim laeta, a sinistris vero tristia habemus. Unde et sinistrum nobis esse dicimus hoc quod adversum esse deputamus. Et, sicut praefati sumus, per hominem incarnatio, per vitulum passio, per leonem vero auctoris nostri resurrectio designatur. De incarnatione autem unigeniti Filii, qua redempti sumus, omnes electi laetati sunt; de morte vero illius ipsi electorum primi sancti apostoli contristati, qui iterum de ejus resurrectione gavisi sunt. Quia ergo ejus et nativitas et resurrectio laetitiam discipulis praebuit, quos ejus passio contristavit, homo et leo a dextris, vitulus vero a sinistris ejus fuisse describitur. Ipsi namque evangelistae sancti de ejus humanitate gavisi sunt, de ejus resurrectione confirmati, qui de ejus passione fuerant contristati. Homo ergo et leo eis a dextris est, quia Redemptoris nostri eos incarnatio vivificavit, resurrectio confirmavit. Sed vitulus a sinistris, quia mors illius eos ad momentum temporis in infidelitate prostravit. Jure autem locus aquilae non juxta, sed desuper esse describitur, quia sive per hoc quod ejus ascensionem signat, seu quia Verbum Patris Deum apud Patrem esse denuntiat, super evangelistas caeteros virtute contemplationis excrevit; cum quibus etsi simul de ejus Deitate loquitur, hanc tamen omnibus subtilius contemplatur. Sed si aquila cum tribus aliis adjuncta, quatuor animalia esse memorantur, mirum quomodo desuper ipsorum quatuor esse describitur, nisi quia Joannes per hoc quod in principio Verbum vidit, etiam super semetipsum transiit. Nam nisi et se transisset, Verbum in principio non vidisset. Quia ergo et semetipsum transgressus est, non jam solummodo super tria, sed adjuncto et se, super quatuor fuit. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia IV Source: Migne PL 76 815a-c

As for the likeness of their faces, there was the face of a man and the face of a lion on the right side of the four, and the face of an ox on the left side of the four: and the face of an eagle above the four. 1 But a great question concerning these same evangelists and holy preachers arises, why the man and the lion of the four are on the right, and the ox of the four is on the left. For certainly not without edification is it spoken that there are two on the right and one on the left. And again we must enquire why the eagle is not found on the right or the left but was described as being above the four. Thus two questions are brought before us, which we should resolve by the enlightenment of the Lord. The man, then, and the lion are on the right, but the ox is on the left. On the right there is joy, and on the left, however, we have grief. Whence even the left we are accustomed to regard as unlucky. And as we have said before, by the man is signified the Incarnation, by the ox the Passion, and by the lion the Resurrection of our Creator. Concerning the Incarnation of the only begotten Son by which we were redeemed, all the elect rejoice, but on account of His death all those first elected to be the first holy Apostles grieve, those who again were made joyful by His resurrection. Thus because His Incarnation and Resurrection give joy to His disciples, those whom the Passion grieves, so the man and the lion are on the right and the ox is on the left. For the same holy evangelists who were made joyful by His incarnation were strengthened by His resurrection, they who were grieved by His passion. The man and the lion, then, are on the right, because the Incarnation of our Redeemer gives them life, and the Resurrection strengthens them. But the ox is on the left because His death at that time cast them down into faithlessness. And rightly the place of the eagle is said to be above and not at the side because it signifies either His Ascension or because it announces that the Divine Word of the Father is with the Father, being set above the other evangelists by the virtue of contemplation, for even though they speak of His Divinity yet this one contemplates it with the utmost elevation. But if the eagle is said to be joined to the other three when the four animals are declared, we must wonder how it is that he is described as being above, unless it is because John grasping that 'In the beginning was the Word,' 1 even passed beyond himself. For unless he passed over himself, he would not have seen the Word in the beginning. Therefore He did indeed surpass himself; not only the other three, but even himself, and he so is placed above the four. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 4 1 Ezekiel 1.10 2 Jn 1.1

Saint Luke's Gospel

Primum quidem sermonem feci de omnibus, O Theophile, quae coepit Jesus facere et docere.  De omnibus se dicit Christi factis et dictis in Evangelio scripsisse, non quod omnia comprehendere potuerit, ne sit contrarius Joanni qui ait: Multa quidem et alia signa fecit Jesus in conspectu discipulorum suorum, quae non sunt scripta in libro hoc, sed quod de omnibus elegerit unde faceret sermonem, quae judicavit apta et congrua sufficere officio dispensationis suae. Theophilus interpretatur Dei amator, vel a Deo amatus. Quicunque ergo Dei amator est, ad se scriptum credat, suaeque hic animae, quia Lucas medicus scripsit, inveniat salutem. Et notandum quod ait: Quae coepti Jesus facere et docere. Primo facere, postea docere. Quia Jesus bonum doctorem instituens, nulla nisi quae fecit docuit. Sanctus Beda, Super Acta Apostolorum, Caput Primum Migne PL 93 11-12

The first work I composed concerning all the things, O Theophilus, which Jesus began to do and teach. 1 Concerning all the things, he says, which Christ did and said, he has written in his Gospel, not that he was able to include everything in there, lest it be contrary to John who said, 'Certainly many other signs Jesus did in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book,' 2 but that he chose from everything in the making of his work what he judged to apt and fitting for the fulfillment of the office given to him. Theophilus translated means lover of God, or loved by God. Whoever, therefore, is a lover of God let him think that it is written for him and for his own soul he may find healing, because it is Luke the physician who wrote it. And let it be noted that he says, 'What Jesus began to do and say.' Firstly He does and then He teaches. Because one cannot present Jesus as a good teacher unless what He did He taught. Saint Bede,  from the Commentary On The Acts of The Apostles, Chap 1 1 Acts 1.1 2 Jn 20.30

Matthew's Rising

Et cum transisset inde Jesus, vidit hominem sedentem in telonio, Matthaeum nomine et ait illi: Sequere me. Id est, misericordiae intuitu aspexit humanis studiis deditum, et temporalibus lucris inhiantem, sicut Petrum ut negotionis reatum agnosceret, respexit. Telos enim Graece, Latine vectigal interpretatur. Matthaeus Hebraice, donatus dicitur Latine; nec immerito, quia tantum supernae gratiae munus accepit. Porro caeteri evangelistae propter honorem ejus, noluerunt eum vulgato nomine appellari, sed Levi dixerunt. Ipse vero se Matthaeum et publicanum nominat, secundum quod a Salomone praecipitur: 'Justus prior accusator est sui.' In principio ait, ut in se ostendat nullum de salute desperare debere, cum ipse de publicano sit in apostolum commutatus. Levi hic praeadditus, sive assumptus significat, quod assumptus est per electionem a Domino, et additus numero apostolorum. Sanctus Beda, In Matthaei Evangelium Expositio, Liber II, Cap IX  Source: Migne PL 92 46c-d

And when Jesus was passing by, He saw a man sitting at the tax booth by the name of Matthew, and He said to him, 'Follow me.' 1 That is, by the intuition of mercy He saw him given over to human passions and cleaving to temporal wealth, and as He knew the work of Peter by his nets so he looked on him. Telos is the Greek which tax booth translates. Matthew is Hebrew and means gift, and not without merit, because he accepted the great gift of supernal grace. Now the other Evangelists, on account of his honor, were unwilling to give him his common title and named him Levi, but he, however, names himself Matthew the tax collector, 2 according to which, as Solomon commands, 'The righteous man is the first accuser of himself.' 3 The first, he says, that he show by himself that no one should despair of salvation, when he was changed from a tax collector to an Apostle. Here Levi means added, or taken up, which taking up is by the choice of the Lord, and added is to the number of the Apostles. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Book 2, Chap 9 1 Mt 9.9 2 Mt 10.3 3 Prov 18.17

Garments As White As Light

Καὶ οὐ μόνον αὐτὸς μεταμορφοῦται ἔμπροσθεν τῶν τοιούτων μαθητῶν οὐδέ προστίθησι μόνον τῇ μεταμορφώσει τὸ λάμψαι τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος, ἀλλὰ γὰρ τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ τοῖς ἀναχθεῖσιν ὑπ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ ὑψηλὸν ὄρος κατ᾿ ἰδίαν φαίνεται λευκὰ ὡς τὸ φῶς. Ἱμάτια δὲ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ αἱ λέξεις καὶ ἃ ἐνεδύσατο τῶν εὐαγγελίων γράμματα. οἶμοι δ’ ὅτι καὶ τὰ παρὰ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις δηλούμενα περὶ αὐτοῦ ἱμάτιά ἐστιν Ἰησοῦ, γινόμενα τοῖς ἀναβαίνουσιν εἰς τὸ ὑψηλὸν ὄρος μετὰ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ λευκά. ἀλλ᾿ ἐπεὶ καὶ λευκῶν εἰσι διαφοραί, τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ γίνονται λευκὰ ὡς τὸ πάντων λευκὸν λαμπρότατον καὶ καθαρώτατον· τοῦτο δέ ἐστι τὸ φῶς. ἐπὰν οὖν ἴδῃς τινὰ οὐ μόνον τὴν περὶ Ἰησοῦ θεολογίαν ἀκριβοῦντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν λέξιν τῶν εὐαγγελίων πᾶσαν σαφηνίζοντα, μὴ ὄκνει τῷ τοιούτῳ φάσκειν γεγονέναι τὰ ἱμάτια τοῦ Ἰησοῦ λευκὰ ὡς τὸ φῶς. Ὠριγένης, Κατὰ Ματθαιον Ἐξηγητικων, Τομος ΙΒ' Source: Migne PG 13 1069b-c

And not only is He transfigured before such disciples, nor does He only add to the transfiguration His face shining like the sun, for even His garments appear white as the light to those who were led up by Him into the high mountain, 1 and the garments of Jesus are the expressions and letters of the Gospels with which He invested Himself. For I think that the words in the Apostles which indicate the truths concerning Him are the garments of Jesus, which become white to those who go up onto the high mountain along with Jesus. And since there are differences in the whiteness of things, it is said His garments become white as the brightest and purest of all white things, and that is light. When, then, you observe someone who not only has an accurate theology concerning Jesus, but is also able to make clear every expression of the Gospels, do not hesitate to say that to him the garments of Jesus have become as white as light. Origen, from the Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Book 12 1 Mt 17.2

Saint John And Sons

Ματθαῖος μὲν γὰρ, τοῖς προσδοκῶσι τὸ ὲξ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Δαυῗδ Ἑβραίος γράφων, Βίβλος, φησὶ, γενέσεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ υἱοῦ Δαυῗδ, υἱοῦ Ἀβραάμ· καὶ Μάρκος εἰδὼς ὃ γράφει, ἀρχὴν διηγεῖται τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου, τάχα εὑρισκόντων ἡμῶν τὸ τέλος αὐτοῦ παρὰ τῷ Ἰωάννῃ ἐν ἀρχῇ Λόγον Θεὸν Λόγον. Ἀλλὰ καὶ Λουκᾶς εἰρηκὼς ἐν ἀρχῇ τῶν Πράξεων· Τὸν μὲν πρῶτον λόγον ἐποιησάμην περὶ πάντων ὦν ἤρξατο ὁ Ἰησοῦς ποιεῖν καὶ διδάσκειν, ἀλλὰ γε τηρεῖ τῷ ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος ἀναπεσόντι τοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοὺς μείζονας καὶ τελειοτέρους περὶ Ἰησοῦ λόγους· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἐκείνων ἀκρατῶς ἐφανέρωσεν αὐτοῦ τὴν θεότητα, ὡς Ἰωάννης παραστήσας αὐτὸν λέγοντα· Ἐγὼ εἰμι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου· Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς, καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια, καὶ ἡ ζωή· Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις· Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα· Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός· καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἀποκαλύψει· Ἐγω εἰμι τὸ Α καὶ τὸ Ω, ἡ ἀρχὴ καὶ τὸ τέλος· ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος. Τολμητέον τοίνυν εἰπεῖν ἀπαρχὴν μὲν πασῶν Γραφῶν εἶναι τὰ Εὐαγγέλια, τῶν δὲ Εὐαγγελίων ἀπαρχὴν τὸ κατὰ Ἰωάννην· οὖ τὸν νοῦν οὐδεὶς δύναται λαβεῖν μὴ ἀναπεσὼν ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος Ἰησοῦ, μηδὲ λαβὼν ἀπὸ Ἰησοῦ τὴν Μαρίαν γινομένην καὶ αὐτοῦ μητέρα· καὶ τηλικοῦτον δὲ γενέσθαι δεῖ τὸν ἐσόμενον ἄλλον Ἰωάννην, ὥστε οἰονεὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην δειχθῆναι ὄντα Ἰησοῦν ἀπὸ Ἰησοῦ. Εἰ γὰρ οὐδεὶς υἱὸς Μαρίας, κατὰ τοὺς ὑγιῶς περὶ αὐτῆς δοξάζοντες, ἤ Ἰησοῦς, φησὶ δὲ Ἰησοῦς τῇ μητρὶ· Ἴδε ὁ υἱός σου, καὶ οὐχὶ· Ἴδε καὶ οὗτος υἱός σου· ἴσον εἴρηκε τῷ· Ἴδε οὗτος ἐστιν Ἰησοῦς ὄν ἐγέννησας. Καὶ γὰρ πᾶς ὁ τετελειωμένος ζῇ οὐκέτι, ἀλλ' ἐν αὐτῷ ζῇ Χριστός· καὶ ἐπεὶ ζῇ ἐν αὐτῷ Χριστὸς, λέγεται περὶ αὐτοῦ τῇ Μαρίᾷ· Ἴδε ὁ υἱός σου ὁ Χριστός. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ἰωαννην Εὐαγγελιον, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον Source: Migne PG 14.29-32

For Matthew writing for the Hebrews who expected Him to be descended from Abraham and David, said 'The book of the generation of Jesus Christ son of David, son of Abraham.' 1 Mark knowing what he wrote, thus began his Gospel, and perhaps in John we find the perfection of it, whose account begins 'the Word was God.' Luke in the beginning of Acts says, 'The first account I made concerning all the things which Jesus did and taught,' 2 for the greater and more perfect words concerning Jesus he kept for him who lay upon the breast of Jesus. Not one of those so purely manifested His Divinity like John, who presented Him saying, 'I am the light of the world,' 3'I am the way, the light and the truth,' 4 'I am the resurrection,' 5 'I am the gate,' 6 'I am the good shepherd,' 7 and in the Apocalypse, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.' 8 Let us be so bold as to say that the first of all the Scriptures is the Gospel and the first of all the Gospels is that given by John, whose meaning no one is able to grasp unless he has reclined on the breast of Jesus, or has received Mary from Jesus, who thus becomes his mother, for that is necessary for him who would be another John in the future, that like John, in the same way, he be received as Jesus from Jesus. For if no one is a son of Mary, in the judgement of those who rationally grasp these things, apart from Jesus, yet Jesus says to his mother, 'Behold your son,' 9 and not, 'Behold, even this is your son,' but it is as if He had said, 'Behold, here is Jesus whom you bore.' For he who is perfect does not live any more but Christ lives in him. 10 And when Christ lives in him, it is said of him to Mary, 'Behold your son, Christ.' Origen, from the Commentary On the Gospel of John, Book 1.6  1 Mt 1.1 2 Acts 1.1 3 Jn 8.12 4 Jn 14.6 5 Jn 11.25 6 Jn 10.9 7 Jn 10.11 8 Rev 22.13 9 Jn 19.26 10 Galat 2.20

Gospel Beginnings

Et quare Joannes statim in principio Evangelli sui divinitatis ejus monstravit naturam dicens: In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum? Quoniam Joannes, inter gentes in exsilio constitutus, Graeco sermone Evangelium causa gentium scripsit, quae non cognoscebant si Deus Filium habet, aut quomodo genitum habet: idcirco superfluum erat primum incarnationis ejus mysterium gentibus demonstrarem cum illum ipsi quis esset nescirent: ideo necessarium fuit primum illis ostendere, quia est Filius Dei Deus: deinde in sequentibus, quia carnem suscepit, dicens: Quia Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis. Matthaeus autem Evangelium Judaeis Hebraico sermone conscripsit, sicut jam diximus supra, ut Judaei legentes aedificarentur in fide. Judaei enim semper cognoscebant, quia est Filius Dei, et quomodo est Filius Dei. Superfluum ergo erat exponere eis divinitatis ejus naturam, quam ipsi optime cognoscebant; necessarium autem fuit mysterium incarnationis ejus ipsis ostendere. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia Prima Source: Migne PG 56.612-613

And why does John in the beginning of his Gospel show the nature of His Divinity saying, 'In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God? 1 Because John, who was in exile among the Gentiles, on account of them wrote his Gospel in Greek, for those who did not know if God had a Son, or how He was begotten; therefore it was superfluous that he first show the mystery of the incarnation to the Gentiles when there were those who had no knowledge of Him at all, and thus it was necessary first to show to them that the Son of God is God; then following that, because He took up flesh, to say 'The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.' 2 Matthew wrote his Gospel in the Hebrew language for the Jews, as we have already said, that in reading it the Jews be edified in the faith. For the Jews always knew that He is the Son of God, and how He is the Son of God. Superfluous for him then it was to explain the nature of His Divinity, which they knew very well, but it was necessary to describe to them the mystery of His incarnation. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from The First Homily 1 Jn 1.1 2 Jn 1.14

Raphael And The Wedding

Assumens Raphael quatuor ex servus Raguelis, et duos camelos, in Rages Medorum perrexit, et indicans ei cuncta de Tobia, recepit pecuniam, cumque secum ad nuptias fecit venire. Servi Raguel et cameli praedictores sunt de gentibus electi, per quos Dominus et alios colligit. Servi, quia serviunt necessitati eorum quibus evangelizant. Cameli, quia et onera infirmitatis eorum fraternae subjectione charitatis portant. Quare autem quatuor servi et cameli sint duo, supra monstratum est, ubi vaccae duae, et quatuor occiduntur arietes. [Sunt duae vaccae occisae, quia quicunque pro Christo, vel ipsi corpus suum sponte mortificant, ut hostia viva fiant, vel in manus infidelium tradunt occidendum: tales nimirum per arma justitiae, a dextris et sinistris, id est, in prosperis et adversis, contra hostem stare didicerunt. Sunt quatuor aristes occisi, quia sancti doctores et martyres quatuor libros sancti Evangelii fide et operatione conservant, quia quatuor virtutibus primis, prudentia, fortitudine, temperantia, justitia, muniuntur.] Tales adjuvante Raphael producunt Gabelum ad nuptias Tobiae, cum in unitatem Ecclesiae Christi novos populos, ipso divinitus opitulante, sancti praedictores aggregant. Sanctus Beda, In Librum Beati Partis Tobiae Allegorica Interpretatio

Raphael, taking four servants from Raguel and two camels, travelled to Rages in Media and telling him everything concerning Tobias, he received the money and brought him back with him to the wedding. 1 The servants and camels of Raguel are the preachers which are chosen from the nations, by which the Lord gathers others. And they are servants because they serve the needs of those whom they evangelize. And they are camels because they bear their weaknesses in the service of fraternal charity. 2 And why there are four servants and two camels we have shown above in the sacrifice of the two cows and the four rams. 3 That is, the two cows are those who for Christ either readily mortify their bodies that they be a living sacrifice, or give them into the hands of the infidels to be killed. And such folk certainly, by the arms of righteousness, in the right and left hand, that is, in prosperity and adversity, have been taught to stand against the enemy. And four rams are slain because the holy teachers and martyrs cherished four books for the working of faith, because with the four cardinal virtues, prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice, they are fortified. Such was the help that Raphael gave for the wedding of Tobias, that is, when the holy preachers with the Divine wealth gather a new people into the unity of the Church of Christ. Saint Bede, from An Allegorical Interpretation of the Book of Tobit 1 Tobit 9.6 2 cf Gal 6.2 3 Tobit 8.22

Belief and the Gospels

Augustinus respondit: O mirabilem insaniam, de Christo aliquid narranti nolle credi Matthaeo, et velle credi Manichaeo! Si Matthaeus non interfuit, cum Christus dixisset: Non veni solvere Legem aut Prophetas, sed adimplere; et propterea non est ei credendum: numquid Manichaeus interfuit, aut iam vel natus fuit, cum Christus inter homines appareret? Secundum ergo hanc fidei vestrae legem, nihil ei de Christo testificanti credere debuistis. Nos autem non propterea dicimus non credendum esse Manichaeo, quia dictis factisque Christi non interfuit, et longe post natus est; sed quia de Christo contra Christi discipulos loquitur, et contra Evangelium quod illorum auctoritate firmatum est. Habemus enim Apostoli vocem, qui in Spiritu sancto tales venturos esse cernebat. Unde fidelibus dicebat: Si quis vobis evangelizaverit praeterquam quod accepistis, anathema sit. Nam si nemo de Christo vera dicit, nisi qui eum praesens vidit et audivit, hodie de illo nemo vera dicit. Porro si hodie propterea de illo fidelibus eius vera dicuntur, quia illi qui viderunt et audierunt, vel praedicando vel scribendo ea disseminaverunt; cur ex ore Ioannis condiscipuli sui non posset vera Matthaeus audire de Christo, ubi ille adfuit, et ipse non adfuit, si ex libro Ioannis possumus vera loqui de Christo, non solum nos tanto post nati, sed etiam post nos alii nascituri? Hinc enim non solum Matthaei, verum etiam Lucae ac Marci Evangelium, qui eosdem discipulos secuti sunt, in non imparem auctoritatem receptum est. Huc accedit, quia et ipse Dominus potuit narrare Matthaeo, quod antequam eum vocasset, cum iis egerat quos prius vocaverat. At enim hoc ipse Ioannes in Evangelio suo ponere debuit, si hoc dictum a Domino audierat, qui, cum diceretur, praesens erat? Quasi fieri non potuerit ut cum omnia quae a Domino audierat, scribere non posset, inter alia quae praetermisit, et hoc praetermiserit, cum in alia scribenda esset intentus. Nonne Evangelium suum ita ipse conclusit, dicens: Et alia quidem multa fecit Iesus, quae si scriberentur singula, nec ipsum existimo capere mundum qui scriberentur libros. Hic utique ostendit se scientem multa praetermisisse. Sed si de Lege et Prophetis vos delectat Ioannis auctoritas, Ioanni credite attestanti Legi et Prophetis. Ipse scripsit quod Isaias viderit Christi gloriam. In eius habetis Evangelio, unde iam paulo ante tractavimus: Si crederetis Moysi, crederetis et mihi; de me enim ille scripsit. Undique tergiversatio vestra contunditur. Aperte dicite non vos credere Christi Evangelio: nam qui in Evangelio quod vultis creditis, quod vultis non creditis, vobis potius quam Evangelio creditis. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, Contra Faustum  Manichaeum, Liber XVII

Augustine replied: O wondrous madness, to be unwilling to believe something Matthew told of Christ, while you are eager to believe Mani! If Matthew was not present when Christ said, 'I came not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfill,' 1 and therefore should not be believed, was Mani there? Was he even born when Christ appeared among men? According to this rule of your faith, then, you should not trust anything that Mani says of Christ. We indeed refuse to believe what Mani says, not because he was not there to witness Christ's words and deeds, but because he speaks against Christ's disciples and against the Gospel which is founded on their authority. Indeed we have the voice of the Apostle, who by the Holy Spirit discerned that such teachers would come, concerning which, he says to the faithful: 'If any one preaches to you another Gospel than that you have received, let him be accursed.' 2 If no one can speak the truth about Christ unless he has himself seen and heard Him, no one today can be trusted. However if the faithful can now say what is true because those who saw and heard such things have by preaching and writing being disseminated, why might not Matthew have heard the truth from his fellow disciple John, when John was present and he was not, if from the book of John we can acquire truth about Christ, and not only we who were born after but others who will be born after us? Thus not only Matthew but the Gospels of Luke and Mark, who were followers of the disciples, with no lesser authority are received. And it may have been that the Lord Himself told Matthew what he had done among those who were called before him. But should have John recorded this, if this saying of the Lord he heard, he who was, as was said, present on the occasion? As if it were not possible, since it was impossible to write all that be heard from the Lord, he omitted this among others. Does he not say at the end of his Gospel: 'And there were also many other things which Jesus did, which, if each one were  written, I think that not even the world itself could contain the books which should be written?' 3 Which shows that he omitted many things intentionally. But if it pleases you to have John as an authority regarding the Law and the Prophets, believe his testimony of the Law and Prophets. It is he who writes that Isaiah saw Christ's glory. 4 It is in his Gospel you will find that passage we discussed a little while ago: 'If you believed Moses, you would also believe me, for he wrote of me.' 5 Your evasions are met on every side. Say plainly that you do not believe the Gospel of Christ, for to believe what you please in the Gospel, and not to believe what you please, is to believe yourselves rather than the Gospel. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Against Faustus Book 17 1. Mt 4.17 2  Gal 1.19 3 Jn 21.25 4 Jn 12.41 5 Jn 5:46

Spirit Of The Gospels

Non enim per alios dispositionem salutis nostrae cognovimus, quam per eos, per quos Evangelium pervenit ad nos; quod quidem tunc praeconaverunt, postea vero per Dei voluntatem in Scripturis nobis tradiderunt, fundamentum et columnam fidei nostrae futurum. Nec enim fas est dicere quoniam ante praedicaverunt, quam perfectam haberent agnitionem; sicut quidam audent dicere, gloriantes, emendatores se esse apostolorum. Postea enim quam surrexit Dominus noster a mortuis, et induti sunt supervenientis Spiritus sancti virtutem ex alto, de omnibus adimpleti sunt, et habuerunt perfectam agnitionem; exierunt in fines terrae, ea quae a Deo nobis bona sunt evangelizantes, et coelestem pacem hominibus annuntiantes, qui quidem et omnes pariter et singuli eorum habentes Evangelium Dei. Ita Matthaeus in Hebraeis ipsorum lingua Scripturam edidit Evangelli, cum Petrus et Paulus Romae evangelizarent, et fundarent Ecclesiam. Post vero horum excessum, Marcus discipulus et interpres Petri, et ipse quae a Petro annuntiata erant, per scripta nobis tradidit. Et Lucas autem sectator Pauli, quod ab illo preadicabatur Evangelium in libro condidit. Postea et Joannes discipulus Domini, qui et supra pectus ejus recumbebat, et ipse edidit Evangelium, Ephesi Asiae commorans. Et omnes isti unum Deum factorem coeli et terrae a lege et prophetis annuntiatum, et unum Christum Filium Dei tradiderunt nobis: quibus si quis non assentit, spernit quidem participes Domini, spernit autem et ipsum Christum Dominum, spernit vero et Patrem, et est a semetipso damnatus, resistens et repugnans saluti suae: quod faciunt omnes haeretici. Sanctus Irenaeus Lugdunensis, Adversus Haereses, Liber III, Caput I

For from no others did we come to know the plan of our salvation, than from those through whom the Gospel has come to us, which they then openly proclaimed, and later by the will of God, handed down to us in the Scriptures, to be the foundation and pillar of our faith. For it is not right to say that they preached before they had perfect knowledge, as some dare say, boasting of themselves as improvers of the Apostles. For, after our Lord rose from the dead, when the Holy Spirit came down they were endowed with power from on high, and they were filled with everything, and had perfect knowledge. They departed to the ends of the earth, preaching the the good things sent to us from God and announcing the peace of heaven to men, all of them together and each one of them having the Gospel of God. Matthew issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own language, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome and founding the Church. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, also handed down to us in writing what had been announced by Peter. Luke also, the follower of Paul, composed in a book the Gospel preached by him. Afterwards, John, the disciple of the Lord, who had leaned upon His breast, published a Gospel when he dwelt at Ephesus in Asia. All these have handed down to us that there is one God, Creator of heaven and earth, announced by the law and the prophets, and one Christ the Son of God. If anyone does not assent to these things, he scorns the companions of the Lord, and so he scorns Christ the Lord Himself, and so he scorns the Father, and thus he damns himself, resisting and opposing his own salvation, as all heretics do. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 3, Chapter 1

Wine and Spirit

Τὴν τοῦ Θείου Πνεύματος ἐπιφοίτησιν δεξάμενοι οἱ τοῦ Κυρίου ἀπόστολοι, γλεύκους εἶναι μεστοὶ ἐνομέσθησαν, καὶ εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθην τὴν ἀληθῆ καὶ ἀνόθευτον πόσιν τῶν μυστηρίων ἐκόμισαν. Τοὺς τοίνυν τὴν θείαν παραχαράσσοντας παίδευσιν, καὶ νόθοις ἐξιτήλοις ἐντάλμασι τὰ οὐράνια ἐπιθολοῦντας διδάγματα, Μανιχαίους, καὶ Σίμωνας, καὶ Μοντανοὺς, καὶ Ναυάτους, Ἀρείους, καὶ Μακεδονίους, Φωτεινούς τε καὶ τοὺς τούτοις ὁμόφρονας, καπήλους εἰκότως προσαγορεύει μιγνύντας τὸν οἶον ὕδατι, τῇ ἀκραιφνεῖ τῶν Θείων λόγων σοφιᾳ τοὺς οἰκείους σχετλιασμοὺς ἐπεισάγοντας. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΞΘ', Ζοιλῳ Πρεσβυτερῳ

The Apostles of the Lord receiving the coming of the The Holy Spirit  were thought to be drunk with wine,1 and yet the true and pure portion of the mysteries they brought to every nation. But those who adulterate the Divine teachings, polluting the heavenly lessons with base diluting precepts, the Manichees, the Simonians, the Montanists, the Novationists, the Arians, the Macedonians and the Photinians, and those of similar mind to them, the Prophet well names cheats, mixers of wine with water,2 for they pour in their own wretched things with the pure wisdom of the words of God . Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 169 To Zoilus the Presbyter 1 Acts 2.13 2 Isa 1.22

The Order of Ancestors

Gradum, quem Mattheaus in ordine regiae successionis ediderat, Lucas in sacerdotali origine computat. Quem dum uterque dinumerat, cognationem in Domino utriusque tribus uterque significat. Recteque generationis gradus ponitur: quia sacerdotalis et regiae tribus societas per Dvid ex conjugio inita, jam a Salathiel in Zorobabel confirmetur ex genere. Atque ita dum Matthaeus paternam originem, quae ex Juda proficiscebatur, recenset, Lucas vero acceptum per Natham ex tribu Levi genus edocet; suis quibusque partibus Domino nostro Jesu Christo, qui est aeternus et rex et sacerdos, etiam in carnali ortu utriusque generis gloriam probaverunt. Quod vero Joseph potiusquam Mariae nativitas recensetur, nihil refert: eadem enim est totius tribus atque una cognatio. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap I

The order which Matthew gives by the royal succession, Luke reckons according to the priestly origin. One reckons by the bloodline of the Lord and the other by His tribe. It is quite right to present the sequence of the Lord's generation in this way since the association of the priestly and royal ancestry begun by David in his marriage is thereafter confirmed through the lineage of Shealtiel to Zerubbabel. And so while Matthew attends to His paternal origin which stemmed from Judah, Luke speaks of the lineage proceeding through Nathan from the tribe of Levi. By both of these ways then is demonstrated the glory of the double genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is eternal king and priest, even in his corporeal birth. That his nativity is traced from Joseph rather than Mary does not matter, for there is one and the same bloodline for the entire ancestry. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 1

Grace and Effort

'Quoniam multi,' inquit, 'conati sunt.' Conati utique illi sunt, qui implere nequiverunt. Ergo multos coepisse, nec implevisse, etiam sanctus Lucas testimonio locupletiore testatur, dicens plurimos esse conatos. Qui enim conatus est ordinare, suo labore conatus est, nec implevit. Sine conatu sunt enim donationes et gratia Dei, quae ubi se infuderit, rigare consuevit; ut non egeat, sed redundet scriptoris ingenium. non conatus est Matthaeus, non canatus est Marcus, non conatus est Joannes, non conatus est Lucas: sed divino Spiritu ubertatem dictorum rerumque omnium ministrante, sine ullo molimine coepta complerunt. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Expositio Evangelii Secundum Lucam, Liber Primus

'Because many' he says 'have tried.' Certainly they have tried who have not been able to complete what they attempted. Therefore that many have begun what have not fulfilled, Saint Luke gives most bountiful witness, saying that 'many have tried.' He who has tried to set in order, who has tried with his own effort, has not completed it. But without effort are the gifts and graces of God, which when infused in one are accustomed to irrigate, that the mind of the writer overflow, not lack. Matthew did not try, Mark did not try, John did not try, Luke did not try, but with the bounty of  the Holy Spirit ministering to every word and matter, without any effort they completed their undertakings. Saint Ambrose, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Book 1